A look at Eagles postseason records that could fall vs. Commanders

Rushing records. Receiving records. Passing records. Even kicking records. 

They could all fall Sunday when the Eagles face the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game at the Linc.

Here’s our third weekly look at Eagles postseason records that are in jeopardy as the Eagles continue their bid to become the 14^th team in history to win a Super Bowl after playing on wild-card weekend.

1. Barkley is a football god

Saquon Barkley has 324 rushing yards in two postseason games so far and needs 168 to break the record for most rushing yards in a three-game span in the postseason. John Riggins holds the mark with 491 for Washington in 1982. Just 100 rushing yards would make him the sixth back with three straight 100-yard games in a single postseason (joining Smith, Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas, Emmitt Smith and Terrell Davis). Barkley needs 287 rushing yards the rest of the postseason to break Riggins’ record of 610 rushing yards in a single postseason. Barkley has 2,329 rushing yards in 18 regular-season and postseason games, which has him 148 short of breaking Davis’s single-season record of 2,476 rushing yards.

2. Hurts approaching an NFL record

Jalen Hurts has thrown 178 consecutive postseason passes without an interception, which is 37 shy of the NFL record of 215 set by Drew Brees from 2006 through 2011. The only other longer streak belongs to Joe Flacco, who completed 195 straight postseason passes without an INT with the Ravens from 2011 through 2014. His streak of six consecutive postseason games without an interception (minimum 20 attempts) is tied for longest in NFL history with a six-game streak by Patrick Mahomes, whose streak of six straight ended in 2023. So with another INT-free game Sunday, Hurts would be the only QB in history with seven straight playoff games without an interception.

3. DeVonta Smith piling up the yards

DeVonta Smith has 481 career postseason receiving yards, which is 16^th-most among players in their first four seasons. But he can climb much higher on that list Sunday. He needs 12 yards to pass Deebo Samuel, 13 to pass Michael Thomas, 15 to pass Tom Fears, 50 to pass Jerry Rice, 58 to pass Anthony Carter, 59 to pass Dallas Clark and 67 to pass Robert Brooks. So 67 yards Sunday moves him from 16^th to ninth for most postseason receiving yards by a player in his first four seasons. If he has a big game and the Eagles win, he could potentially approach the record – Alvin Harper’s 655 with the Cowboys in the early 1990s. Smith broke Harold Carmichael’s Eagles record for career postseason receiving yards last week.

4. Week 2 was a long time ago

The Eagles go into Sunday with a nine-game home winning streak, 3^rd-longest in franchise history. The Eagles won 14 straight at home from 1947 through 1949 and 11 straight at home over the 1991 through 1993 seasons. The Chiefs and Bills are the only teams that currently have longer home winning streaks. The Chiefs go into the AFC Championship Game against the Bills with 11 straight home wins, and the Bills will go into 2025 with 10 straight. The Dolphins hold the NFL record for consecutive home wins with 31 from 1971 through 1974.

5. An impressive 14-year streak

The Eagles haven’t allowed more than two touchdowns in any of their last eight home playoff games. Only four teams in NFL history have had longer streaks without allowing more than two TDs at home. The Giants had a 13-game home streak from 1962 through 2011, the Packers had a home streak without allowing more than two TDs that lasted from 1939 through 2001, the Patriots went 11 games in a row from 1996 through 2007 and the Vikings had a 10-game streak lasting from 1969 through 1976. The last time the Eagles allowed three TDs in a home playoff game was the 2010 wild-card loss to the Packers, who won 21-16 on three TD passes by Aaron Rodgers. Six days later, Andy Reid fired defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Today, McDermott's Bills face Reid's Chiefs.

6. Crazy rushing numbers

The Eagles averaged 6.7 yards per rushing attempt vs. the Packers and Rams, which is 2^nd-highest in NFL history in the postseason by a team playing more than one game. The only team with a higher average is the 2009 Cards, who averaged 6.8 yards per carry led by Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells. 

7. Nolan Smith closing in on multiple records 

Nolan Smith has 3.0 sacks this postseason, only half a sack fewer than Haason Reddick’s Eagles single-season record of 3 ½, set during the 2022 Super Bowl run. Derrick Burgess also had 3.0 in 2004. Smith had half a sack in Tampa last year and his 3 ½ sacks are two fewer than Brandon Graham for the Eagles career record of 5 ½. Burgess, Hugh Douglas and Reggie White had 4.0. So one sack on Sunday moves Smith into second place. A sack Sunday would also make Smith the first Eagle ever with a sack in three consecutive postseason games. Several Eagles have had a sack in two straight: Snith, Reddick, Burgess, Jevon Kearse, Douglas and White. Smith’s 3 ½ sacks are 7^th-most by a player before his 24^th birthday and one more jumps him up into a tie for 3^rd-most, behind George Karlaftis III (7.0) and J.J. Watt (5.0). 

8. Goedert already among top postseason tight ends 

Dallas Goedert has caught four or more passes in eight straight playoff games, the 7^th-longest streak in NFL postseason history and 2^nd-longest active streak behind Travis Kelce’s 15-gamer. Kelce and Goedert are the only tight ends to ever catch four passes in eight straight playoff games. The only other players ahead of Goedert on that list are Julian Edelman (13 straight), Wes Welker (12), Tyreek Hill (10), former Eagle Julio Jones (10) and Jerry Rice (10). Goedert and Zach Ertz can both move up on the all-time postseason tight end receiving list. The former teammates are tied for 11^th with 43 catches but just two catches out of 10^th (Jason Witten with 45).  

9. Winning in an unusual way

The Eagles had 121 net passing yards against the Packers and 65 against the Rams, and their 186 net passing yards are 7^th-fewest in NFL history by a team winning consecutive playoff games. They’re the eighth team in the last 50 years to win back-to-back playoff games despite fewer than 125 passing yards in both. The last team to win three straight postseason games with fewer than 125 passing yards in each one was the 1999 Titans. The only other ones were the 1971 Cowboys and 1972 Dolphins. The 186 yards are the fewest the Eagles have had in any two-game winning streak since games in 2003 against the Giants (47) and Jets (112). The only time they’ve won three straight with fewer than 125 passing yards was in 1949 against the New York Bulldogs (65 yards), Detroit Lions (91) and Chicago Cardinals (107).

10. Elliott can't miss (really!)

Jake Elliott goes into Sunday’s game riding two opposite streaks. First, the good streak. Elliott is 22-for-22 in his career in postseason field goal attempts, and only Robbie Gould – who was 29-for-29 in the postseason from 2005 through 2022 – has attempted more postseason field goals without a miss. Elliott is also the least accurate postseason point-after kicker at 25-for-30 for 83 percent. He missed one PAT in the Packers game and two in the Rams game, making him the sixth kicker since 1970 to miss PATs in back-to-back games. The only kicker to ever miss a PAT in three straight postseason games is Roy Gerela with the Steelers in 1976. 

Tune in to Mission 59 specials all playoffs long on NBC Sports Philadelphia, presented by Toyota.

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